Event of the Week: Defending the American Dream Summit

Comingoff of two devastating elections, where the Republicans lost control ofboth houses of Congress and the presidency, the factions within theconservative movement seem to be solidifying. Some factional fightingmanifested itself over the past week with the circus antics of RushLimbaugh, the voice of the extreme right, and Michael Steele, chairmanof the Republican National Committee who is trying to rebuild theparty, when the two mixed it up on the cable networks. Unfortunatelyfor the Republicans, Limbaugh’s side seems to be winning.

TheLimbaugh side of this schism met in Milwaukee over the pastweekendperhaps because the Milwaukee area is home to some vocalelected officials who represent this extreme thinkingfor the Defendingthe American Dream Summit sponsored by the very conservative Americansfor Prosperity. The conference attendees were welcomed by thelikes of Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, Congressmen Paul Ryanand Jim Sensenbrenner and Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen. This is thecrowd who still believes that only the private sector can do thingswell and who supported all of the deregulation that got us into theworst financial crisis since the Great Depressionand who still want touse the Herbert Hoover approach to deal with their mess.

The summiteven brought in “Joe the Plumber,” who during the campaign confrontedPresident Obama because he was worried about Obama taxing people whoearn more than $250,000 per year, even though Joe was an unlicensedplumber earning a fraction of that amount.

For Sensenbrennerit is the simple mantra of cutting taxes for the rich and not makingany public investments. Congressman Jim believes that the rich canafford to get what they need in the private sector and the poor canjust work harder. Then there is Congressman Ryan, who bills himself asan economist and sees himself as an “Ideas Man.” The only problem isthat all of Ryan’s “new” economic ideas are of the 1920s vintagethekind that brought us the Great Depression of the 1930s and the GreatRecession of the 21st century. If these guys had their way in Washington, we would definitely be in a worldwide depression.

Thenwe have Scott Walker, who attacked critics saying that theconservatives and the Republicans need to change. While others can onlytalk about hating government, Walker, as county executive, can actuallytry to destroy it. His latest effort was to do such a poor job ofmanaging the county’s public assistance programs that the state of Wisconsin had to step in to run them.

Other participants from our area included state Rep. Robin Vos and state Sen. Alberta Darling.

Vos’claim to fame is his effort to kill the KRM commuter train extendingthe Chicago-to-Kenosha commuter rail to Racine and Milwaukee. Thebusiness community has championed this project as a way to promoteregional economic growth.

Then there is Alberta Darling, who,despite the fact that she tries to portray herself as a moderateRepublican every four years, fits in very well with this extremistgroup.

As long as this crowd controls the Republican Party, it will be a long, slow journey out of the darkness.

Heroes of the Week:Brenda Wesley and ASK/NAMI of Greater Milwaukee

Itisn’t easy to reach out and get help for a mental illness, especiallyin Milwaukee’s African-American community, where the stigma is evengreater. Yet not getting help leads to further problems, such asunemployment, anti-social behavior, strained relationships andisolation. That insight led Brenda Wesley to launch the ASK (Access,Support & Knowledge) program with the National Alliance on MentalIllness (NAMI) Greater Milwaukee in October 2007. Since then, Wesleyhas spoken to more than 2,500 people who want to learn more aboutcoping with mental illness, whether it’s their own, a loved one’s or afriend’s. “The community is beginning to open its arms,” Wesley said.“They say, ‘You look like me. It’s OK to talk about it now.’” She saidASK hopes to branch out to the city’s Latino community, veterans andMilwaukee Public Schools students and staff. For their tireless work tohelp end the stigma associated with mental illnesses, we are honoringBrenda Wesley and NAMI as our Heroes of the Week.

Jerk of the Week: Circuit Court Judge Candidate Daniel Gabler

MilwaukeeCounty Assistant District Attorney Daniel Gabler, hoping to replaceMichael Brennan on the bench, won this dubious award because of hissleazy campaign tactics of lies and distortions. If this ishow he campaigns, then God help Milwaukee County if he gets on thebench. For example, one of his campaign pieces claimed that hisopponents had a “record of defending criminals.” Why? Well, oneopponent, a practicing assistant district attorney, had developed arestorative justice programat the behest of District Attorney JohnChisholmfor those who wrote bad checks. Restorative justice programssuch as this one keep nonviolent offenders out of the court systemwhile forcing them to make amends for their misdeeds. It saves moneyand valuable court resources while getting results. Unfortunately,Gabler doesn’t understand this and seems to prefer clogging our courtsand eating up prosecutors’ precious time with cases that should behandled in an alternative setting. And, even worse, he doesn’t seem tocare if he misleads the public by distorting the work of the districtattorney’s office. For twisting the truth and insulting ourintelligence, Gabler has earned his title as our Jerk of the Week.

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